GRi Press Review 27-01-99

 Coomson vrs Tsatsu, Peprah. The battle is now joined' is the screaming headline of the Chronicle. The paper reports that a huge legal battle now looms following the issuing of fresh writs by Nana Kofi Coomson challenging the action of the Chief Executive of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation and the 'criminal negligence and ignorance' of the 10-member board in the recent derivatives deal that has brought a $ 40 million debt to the nation.

 According to the paper, Kofi Coomson who withdrew his unprecedented ex-parte application last month amidst groans of public disappointment almost immediately served the writs urging an Accra High Court to check what he described in an interview as 'the costly guinea-pig experimentation with the tax payers money by a well-meaning but misguided zealot'.

 Coomson says, he thought it was a tragedy that a 'public officer who has systematically and single-handedly injured the nation's financial stability appears to enjoy immunity from the government and the Presidency.

 The publisher of the Ghanaian Chronicle is seeking in his statement of claim, a restraining order from the court preventing the sale of one of the GNPC's rigs, Discovery 511 and any other state asset for the purpose of liquidating the indebtedness of GNPC to the French banking group, Societe Generale, reports the paper.

 In another front-page story, Kofi Coomson explains why he withdrew the initial action. According to him, a series of events led to his withdrawal of the ex-parte application he filed against the Board of the GNPC and the other Ministers mentioned in last month's suit.

 He disclosed that Mr. Justice Gyamera Tawiah listed the case for hearing, but he had an accident that very day and could, therefore not go to court. He said he and his lawyers raced to the Registrar's office for a re-assignment and had it sent to Justices R.K. Akpaloo's court same day because of the element of urgency underlying the ex-parte affidavit.

 When the case was called, Mr Akpaloo advised that Coomson 'go and put your house in order' and come back at 10:30 am the next day. Following some technical loopholes the judge detected that the defendants should be sued with their official titles, the paper reports.

 Another headline on the front-page of the paper is =91Obed's missing 100 million cedis case takes a new turn'. The story says Counsel for the two former bodyguards of Dr. Obed Yoa Asamoah, Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Captain Nkrabea Effah-Dartey, will today pray an Accra Regional Tribunal that leave be granted to file an appeal out of time to challenge the jurisdiction of the tribunal.

 The Free Press reporting on the crime wave in Ghana, says =91Aliens in control'. According to the story, sometime in 1993, just after the fourth republic had began, of which aliens were in the majority constituted themselves into a group and made their way to the Castle to meet the president. 

The paper said an indigenous Ghanaian tribal head led them. At the Castle, they complained bitterly to President Rawlings about the increasing rate of crime at Ashiaman. 

What the President did not know was that most of the so-called tribal heads were masquerades and were just there to deceive the public. The paper is of that opinion because according to it most of this alien tribal heads' children are hardened criminals.  

The paper gave an example of the Zambrama chief whose son is an alleged hardened criminal and his father protects him.

 'Trouble more on $5m bribe' is the banner headline of the Insight. The story says sources close to Aso Rocks, say that Alhaji Ismaila Gwarzo, former national security advisor to the late Nigerian dictator, General Sani Abacha, is to be put on trial for looting $1 billion from the Central Bank. 

The trail will undoubtedly spell trouble for Mr. Jerry John Rawlings, who has been blown unto the ropes for allegedly receiving a bribe of $5m from General Abacha.

All the three papers- The Chronicle, the Free Press and the Insight, report on the Reformed Movement under following headlines: 'Reform Movement will contest 2000 elections', 'NDC cracks =96 Reformists secede' and 'NDC head ache' repectively.

 'Should the State fund parties?' asked the front-page lead story of the Ghanaian Times. The story said the Electoral Commission (EC) is summoning a meeting of all registered political parties and the donor community in Accra on Thursday to deliberate on whether state should fund political parties during elections. 

Also to be discussed is the issue of what percentage of votes must be obtained to qualify a political party for financial support by the state.  

According to the paper, these issues form a broad proposal for the amendment of the Political Parties Law.

 Another story on the paper's front-page has it that, some parts of the body of Constable Owusu Sekyere, a.k.a Ninja, one of the policemen murdered at Ablekuma, has been found.  

The paper said following a tip-off, 15 policemen from the Police Striking Force and Action Units, found the parts yesterday under a bamboo tree at the place where his body was previously buried. The parts have been deposited at the Police Hospital Mortuary.

 'Rot at K'Bu. Rona Chemist denies charges. MOH terminates contract of Rona' is the screaming headline of the Daily Graphic.  

The paper reports that Rona Chemist, a supplier of non-drug medical items alleged to be involved in improper supply contract deals at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital estimated at hundreds of millions of cedis, has categorically denied the charges. 

It also denied having exploited to its benefit any inappropriate links with the Purchasing Committee of the hospital and called for ' a national inter-ministerial probe' to investigate the entire supply system at the hospital to get to the bottom of the matter and establish the truth.

 In a second story, the Ministry of Health in conformity with directives from the Office of the President, has dissolved the Purchasing Committee of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital on the strength of serious allegations of malpractice in supply contracts running into hundreds of millions of cedis.

 In addition, the Ministry has terminated the contract of Rona Chemist Limited, a prominent supplier of medical items to the hospital who is said to be in the centre of the deals, and also blacklisted it from supplying items to any government hospital. 

In other story on the front-page, 'I never demand kickbacks from Rona', the paper reports that the acting Director of Administration of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr. Sylvia Anie-Akwetey, has dismissed allegations that she demanded kickbacks from Mrs. Rose Hamilton, proprietor of Rona Chemist, 

She is reported to have described the allegations as a desperate lie concocted by an exposed wrong doer to find an escape route for herself from the mess she has created.  

According to the story, Dr. Akewtey was reacting to allegations by Rona Chemist that she demanded kickbacks from her in order to accord her a privileged reception in her supplying business with the hospital.

 'At no point in time during my current position have I ever solicited for and received anything, including financial inducement from the Rona proprietor', she is reported as saying. 

To be or not be, 'Reform Movement undecided', the Crusading Guide intimated that it is not very clear what direction the RM is moving. It said the anxiety within political circles as to which path the Movement is treading stems from the simple fact that in spite of the mordant criticism against the NDC, the members of the leadership of the RM have not publicly renounced their membership of the NDC.

It said at a press conference last Monday, the spokesman for the group, Mr Goosie Tanoh made it clear that the 'RM is a non-partisan political movement. Ghanaians have developed a deep distrust of =91politics and politicians'. A broad-based movement is necessary to mobilise ordinary Ghanaians into the political struggle to reform our national leadership and political culture'.

The paper wonders if the Rm.'s statements are not contradictory.

The Guide' heading; 'NDC meets at Akuse over Reform Movement' says the announcement by the RM that it will form a political party has sent shivers through the leadership of the NDC.

Last Monday, a high powered committee was set up by the NDC just after the RM press conference, to find a way of bringing the =91rebel' group back into the NDC fold, says the paper.

According to the paper sources at the NDC headquarters said the meeting took place in the serene environment of Akuse in the Eastern Region, where it was decided that a strategy should be adopted to get the Reformers back. The NDC was prepared to give out some concessions to the Reformers to get the party whole again, the source told the paper.

In another front-page story headline; 'Gwarzo speaks about $5m bribe' , the paper says the former Nigerian Chief Security Adviser to the late Gen. Sanni Abacha have dared General Abubakar's government to set up a probe to investigate him.

The paper quoted the 'Weekend Sunset' newspaper of Nigeria as saying Gwarzo have threatened Abubakar that if he is probed over the looting of N1.3 billion, he would make very startling revelations capable of setting the country on fire.

The two dailies report on the meeting between President Rawlings and the visiting Chinese Veep at he Castle Osu, and the conviction of one Owusu Sekyere for contempt.

'Let's solve disputes without force' is the story on the front page of the Daily Graphic. The story says the visiting Chinese Vice-President has stressed the need for international conflicts to be resolved without the use of force or the threat of it. Globalisation requires that all countries big, small, poor or rich are given the same opportunity to partake in international affairs without fear or intimidation, the paper reports Mr Hu, who is on a three-day official vis it as saying.

Other stories on the front-page of the paper include a proposed national school fees committee which is to be set up very soon to regulate the fixing of fees and other charges by public senior secondary schools and the conviction of one Owusu Sekyere by a Sunyani Court for contempt.

The court ruled that by acting as a chief, Odeneho Owusu Sekyere violated an order by the Brong Ahafo Regional House of Chiefs restraining him from doing so.

The back-page of the Graphic carried two sports stories headlined; 'Starlets off for Meridian Cup' and 'Hearts win Super Cup. Beat Asante Kotoko 2-1'.

The Times on it back-page carried a story under the headline ' Energy Road Map for Ghana ready'. According to the story, a report on 'an Energy Roadmap for Ghana: From crisis to the Fuel for Economic Freedom', will be presented to the Ghana government next month.

The United States members of the Bi-national Interagency Task Force, collaboration between Ghana and US on the former's energy crisis last year, compiled it.

The task force was formed last year in response to Vice President Prof. Attah Mills' visit to the US and Bill Clinton's pledge to assist Ghana in addressing her energy crisis.

Reporting on the latest auditor generals report, which the Independent said is already in the domain of the Speaker of Parliament, the paper under the headline; 'Ghost Workers in Parliament' says, according to the Auditor Generals report, salaries of 109 staff members of the House were duplicated for various months resulting in overpayment of 119.5 million cedis as of May 1998.

The paper says although most of the names had been deleted by May 31, 1998, the Auditor General contended that nine staff members continued to receive double salary.

The report also made revelation of 4.6 billion cedis non-recovery of MPs' car loans. In July last year an amount of 4.6 billion cedis was released for the payment of motor vehicle loans to 162 members of Parliament. The loans together with a two per cent interest are to be recovered from MPs emoluments during their term in Parliament and any outstanding balance to off-set their ex-gratia awards, the paper said.

'Swedru sex fraudster jailed' is the cover story of the Graphic Showbiz. The story has it that George Eyiah, a sex fraudster who for the past three years, operating from Agona Swedru , have advertised in foreign magazines with 14 female names and had been able to secure 28 male respondents from Europe, America and Australia proposing marriage and love to him, have been jailed for 26 months.

Eyiah who advertised in 'Matchmaker' and 'Continental And Loot', uses nude, pictures of young girls as himself and deceiving his respondents this way, he extorted various monies ranging between $5 to 1,500 which he said was to defray his cost for mailing letters and nude pictures to them.

Through various ploys, he was able to squeeze heavier amounts of $500 and $1,500 from most of his 28 foreign lovers. Other items he was able to extort include women wears, electronic gadgets, and toiletries as well as sex enhancement creams.

One of his victims is an Australian who is seeking appointment at the University of Cape to lecture in the Law Faculty. He refers to Eyiah in his letters as Spendy and was requesting for a nude photograph and some of 'her' 'pussy hair that I can treasure as part of you, here in Australia', the paper quotes from the letter.

Eyiah was convicted on three counts of escaping from lawful custody, defrauding by false pretences and offences relating to obscenity.

The Police are still looking for dozens of girls whose nude pictures helped to facilitate the activities of Eyiah, for prosecution.

'Chicken-Soup ruins couple's 9-year-old marriage', is the headline of the P& P. According to the story, a bowl of fufu and groundnut soup prepared with tender-fleshed chicken, given to a neighbour by Madam Mercy Badu, 35, has ruined her nine-year-old marriage.

Mr Kobina Mensah, a native of Cape Coast, who had for sometime been suspicious of the relationship between the wife and one James Otoo, a co-tenant, has capitalised on the gift to throw her out of their matrimonial home.

To Mr Mensah, the quantity of food the wife gave to James, far out weigh his, thus, confirming his earlier suspicions that his wife was in love with James, reports the paper.

'Man kills ex-wife & commits suicide' after reconciliation efforts backfired, the Weekend Chronicle reports that one Akua Kobi was murdered in cold blood by her former husband who committed suicide after the gruesome act. The paper, quoted a police source at Agogo, saying that Akua and her ex-husband, Yaw Bekoe, 42, farmer, lived at Akutuase for ten years and had two children.

The sources said Yaw who never performed the necessary rites for official recognition by Akua's family, subjected her to severe beatings anytime there was a misunderstanding between them.

According to the paper, Akua who could not withstand the Mike Tyson type of punches ended the relationship. After Yaw failed to win Akua back, he hid in a bush with a single barrel shot gun and fired at her whiles she was returning home after drawing water from a public well.

She died instantly and Yaw then shot himself.